Ravens radio voice Gerry Sandusky: I’ll never change my name

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 7, 2014, 10:52 AM EDT

Gerry Sandusky had a decades-long career as a sports broadcaster before former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with sexually abusing children. But once the Jerry Sandusky case became a national scandal, Gerry Sandusky faced unrelenting abuse from people who didn’t grasp the fact that they’re two different people, with differently spelled names, and are not related.

Although Gerry Sandusky has received death threats because people think he’s Jerry Sandusky, Gerry Sandusky says he will never change his name. In a new book, Forgotten Sundays: A Son’s Story of Love, Loss and Life from the Sidelines of the NFL, Gerry Sandusky explained that he remains proud of his name, given to him by his father John Sandusky, a former NFL player and coach.

“About two and a half years ago when the Jerry Sandusky — no relation — Penn State story broke, so many people asked me, ‘Why don’t you change your name?’ And the book is largely an answer to that. Over the last couple years I’ve learned through the journey, it’s not my name to change. Gerry Sandusky is the name I have in stewardship that my parents left me — my father and my mother left me a great name, and I intend to do the same thing for my kids,” Sandusky said on NFL Network.

Still, it hasn’t been easy. Thanks largely to Twitter, which makes it simple for any idiot to send someone a hateful message, Sandusky said that when the Jerry Sandusky scandal was a major national news story, he was receiving abusive messages “hundreds of times a day because of my name.” Although the Twitter abuse has died down, it hasn’t disappeared completely. Even today, when NFL Network tweeted that Gerry Sandusky would be a guest, there were replies to that tweet with comments like, “sickening” and “what about the victims?”

Gerry Sandusky may never stop being confused for Jerry Sandusky, but Gerry Sandusky will continue to take pride in who he is.

Unfortunately, there will also be those who are stupid and don’t realize this is a different person from that other guy who caused all the problems. I’m sure there are other people with the same name who have the same problems who we’ll never hear about.

LOL @ the Joel Rifkin comment – Remember the big irony of that Seinfeld episode where Elaine suggested Joel Rifkin change his name to OJ, being the episode was filmed before OJ’s killing days. So maybe it’s better that Gerry with a G doesn’t change his name.

You know what? There are a lot of players named Deon these days. What a cool name, Deon. If I were going to change my name, I’d go with Deon. Let’s say I was you. And I decided I was gonna change my name for no real reasons whatsoever–Deon Sandusky. Wow! That is so cool.

What if he left a ticket to the Ravens game for a friend, but the friend forgot his ID when he went to pick it up?

STADIUM ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? Would Gerry Sandusky report to the stadium office. Gerry Sandusky…telephone. (the crowd stops cheering and we see a football player distracted from the game while hearing the announcer saying Gerry Sandusky)

GERRY: Who would be calling me here? (he stands up and look around)

RADIO ANALYST: (to the person in front of him in the press box) He’s not the child abuser.

Get the police involved. Nothing like a visit from the cops to help straighten some people out. And all it takes is one instance ” Police stopped by the home of such and such for his threatening twitter comments towards Gerry Sandusky mistaking him for the Penn State coach. That’ll send a better message than letting idiots get away with it.